Posted by
Curt Day on Monday, November 13, 2006 8:03:41 AM
Since 9-11, we have been told that this war is unlike any war we have fought because our new enemy is unlike any enemy we have fought. We have also been told that without provocation, we were attacked on 9-11 because our enemies hate our freedoms and not because of our policies--either past or present. Finally, we are told that our enemy, the terrorists, wants to kill us in order to establish world rule.
But just as we invaded Iraq under false pretenses, our War on Terror is also based on the same. The big lie is that this present war is unlike any war we have fought before because our enemy is unlike any enemy we have fought before. One only needs to consult history to see that it is repeating itself all over again. History often shows that those who have been oppressed seek to establish a zone of unvulnerability from future suffering despite the costs that others must pay for creating that zone.
One historical incidence of the oppressed trying to establish a safety zone for its people was the Iron Curtain. The Soviet Union built its Iron Curtain not as much to establish an empire but to create a buffer zone to protect itself from another western invasion. The Soviet Union was calloused to the suffering experienced by others just as much as it was cold to the suffering of any of its citizens that did not comply with its totalitarian rule. But establishing a safety zone was the motivation behind that Iron Curtain.
A current example of an oppressed people seeking its own safety without concern for the welfare of others is Israel's occupation against the Palestinians. Though it is not a totalitarian state like the Soviet Union, Israel's brutal occupation over the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as its possible role in encouraging the invasion of Iraq along with its speculated encouragement to convince the US to attack Iran is another example of history repeating itself. Certainly, Israel has the right to defend itself and has the right to exist. But is it doing so by destroying the rights of others because they do not feel safe enough? And certainly we should help Israel to survive and even thrive but should we support their oppressive actions against both the Palestinians and the Lebanese?
So what we see with our extremist enemy is that for decades, Arabs have suffered through multiple forms of Western Oppression ranging from Western rule and occupation in the early 20th century to orchestrating coups and using proxy rulers afterwards to supporting Israel's brutal occupation against the Palestinians. Those Islamic extremists, without concern for the suffering of even fellow Arabs and Muslims who are in the way, want to establish their rule over a region in order to create a safe state for themselves. Our current support for Arab dictatorships, our support for Israel's occupation against the Palestinians, our own occupation of Iraq, and our threats against Iran merely fan the flames of their extremism because it reminds them of their need for safety. Again, this group of Islamic terrorists merely wants to repeat history regardless of how sad and cruel that history is.
Our real challenge in this War On Terror is to provide an alternative way to establishing that safe zone for Arabs. This alternative way must be free from both oppression and Western control and must defend the rights and equality of all who already live in that region-- including Israel. We cannot start to meet this challenge until we recognize how historically ordinary our enemy is.